Pharmacists will be able to order just one flu vaccine that will cover all adults for the 2019/20 season, NHS England has announced.
The cell grown quadrivalent vaccine (QIVc) Flucelvax Tetra (£9.94 per dose), which is suitable for use in patients aged over 9, is equally suitable as the two vaccines approved for the 2018/19 flu service, NHS medical director Stephan Powis told pharmacists in a letter sent today (23 January).
The egg cultured quadrivalent inactivated vaccine (between £8 and £9.94 per dose) is suitable for those aged between 18 and 64 in at-risk groups and the adjuvanted trivalent inactivated vaccine (aTIV) (£9.79 per dose) is suitable for patients aged 65 and over.
Pharmacists should order the aTIV, QIVe and QIVc for the 2019/2020 season, and will be reimbursed the cost of these by NHS England.
However, at a ‘significantly higher’ price point at £20 per dose, an alternative vaccine – the high-dose trivalent vaccine (TIV-HD) suitable for those aged 65 and over – will not be reimbursed.
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